So much for a slow September. After the spectacular $84 million opening of “The Conjuring: Last Rites” last week, Sony is keeping the hot streak growing with Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle,” which Sony is now projecting will earn a $56 million opening while industry estimates and exhibitors are projecting much higher
It’s a result that comes after an excellent $32.8 million opening day from 3,315 locations, and exhibitor sources tell TheWrap that a Saturday and Sunday overperformance that pushes “Demon Slayer” past $70 million is well within reach. Industry estimates have a projection in between those optimistic expectations and what Sony is reporting, projecting a $63 million start.
It’s so difficult to say where the ceiling is because this shonen anime series has built a fanbase in the U.S. and abroad that far exceeds any anime franchise that has gotten a theatrical release, making it difficult for tracking models to determine how many moviegoers “Infinity Castle” has yet to mine.
But what is clear is that “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” has broken a 26-year record for the biggest U.S. opening ever for an anime film set back in 1999 by “Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back” with $31 million and will hold that record even after inflation adjustment if it clears $61 million.
Even if “Demon Slayer” is as frontloaded as nearly all anime films are, this is another huge boost to the post-summer box office that will push overall weekend totals to $145 million, 48% over the same weekend in 2024. After the slowdown in in the latter half of August, the worst-case scenario of theaters having to slog through two months of low business for November films like “Wicked: For Good” to arrive has been averted.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” is in second with $8.4 million on its second Friday and an industry-estimated $26 million total. While that is an immense 68% drop from its $84 million launch, it is still the highest second weekend ever for a “Conjuring” film and gives it a domestic total of $131 million after 10 days. By Tuesday, “Last Rites” will become the highest domestic grossing film in the franchise before inflation adjustment.
In third is Focus Features’ “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” with an estimated $19.5 million opening weekend. While still well short of the $31 million of the 2019 “Downton Abbey” film, the finale to the 15-year British series has topped the $15 million launch of the 2022 film “Downton Abbey: A New Era.” The film has pleased critics and longtime fans with an A on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 90% critics and 96% audience.
Lionsgate’s “The Long Walk” takes fourth with an estimated $11 million opening, meeting pre-release projections. The bleak adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian novel has earned strong praise from critics at 91% while audiences gave it a B on CinemaScore and an 86% RT audience score.
More to come…
